Flashy Techniques
by muishiki
Summary: Flashy justu are a sure sign that a ninja's compensating for something else. In conjunction with Sai’s constant comments about Naruto’s size being small, Hinata is forced to intervene with the truth to defend Naruto’s honor. Naruto x Hinata. Humor


Spamfic – Flashy justu are compensation for something else. In conjunction with Sai's constant comments about Naruto's size being small, Hinata is forced to intervene with the truth to defend Naruto's honor.

---

Even though the Hyuuga estates used to have a number of very excellent bathhouses, Hinata had always secretly preferred the anonymity and impersonal nature of the industrial sized public bath located in Konoha's center. While they lacked the charm, refinement, and privacy of the Hyuuga baths, the public baths served as a source of escape from the pressures of life on the Hyuuga compound, as most Hyuugas, considering it beneath their station, wouldn't deign to fraternize with the "rabble" that frequented the public baths. And so, even though it was crowded, noisy, raucous, and smelled faintly like medicine from the chemical cleaners used to prevent mold, the public baths paradoxically provided a lot more privacy in many ways, as she could just relax and enjoy a good soak, free from the prying eyes at the compound that always seemed to be measuring her worth and finding it lacking. Here, she didn't have to be the Hyuuga heiress. She could pretend, if only for a couple of hours, that she was just like any of the other woman in the bathhouse, focused only on getting clean and strangling the occasional pervert that tried to peek in on the bathers.

It didn't hurt that along with the rest of Konoha, most of the Hyuuga's estates had been decimated. While they had a functional bathhouse now, the public bath had been one of the first structures rebuilt, both to help moral and to keep people clean and healthy during the lengthy rebuilding process.

The old public baths used to be nicer, but given the speed at which these had been built, Hinata couldn't complain. There were made in the fashion of public baths everywhere else she had seen on her travels; the men's and women's side were separated by little more than a high wooden wall, allowing sound to travel back and forth between the two sides. Row after row of wash stations greeted her as she entered the bathing area. Each wash station consisted of a low, wooden stool that sat in front of paired hot and cold water taps, with a shower head on a flexible hose mounted on the low wall between them.

Beyond the stations was the large, irregularly shaped hot water bathing pool, crafted to look like some sort of natural hot spring, rocks and vegetation lining the sides of the pool. Rather than build a new tub, the construction crews had just smoothed out some of the rough edges of one of the holes created in the Konoha conflict. Hinata thought it was perfect, as the landscaping made it look attractive and offered lots of secluded corners for those who wanted to bathe in privacy and larger open spaces for social groups. Years of habit drove Hinata to choose a wash station that faced the entrance in the far corner of the room, so she could keep an eye on anyone that might enter.

Even with her Byakugan, it never hurt to be careful.

She filled a bucket with cold water from the tap, and upending it over her head, immediately set to work lathering up as she filled another with hot water. She didn't bother to wash her hair this time, just giving it a cursory rinse. She'd wash it thoroughly after she got out of the bath. She finished quickly, and with a final rinse of warm water to remove any soap, stepped over into the large open bath, and worked her way over to a hidden nook in the pool where she could relax without being seen from the wash area. Hinata sank down into the hot water with a soft sigh, placing her wash towel on the rocks behind her neck. She leaned back and rested her head on the towel and with a blissful smile, closed her eyes and drifted as the hot water worked its magic on muscles fatigued from training.

She must have drifted off, because she started suddenly at the sound of Sakura's voice laughing loudly from one of the open "social" spaces behind her. Momentarily disoriented, she picked out other voices as well. Hinata was well hidden by her low position in the water and the foliage that separated their spaces, so she had the luxury of listening in on the conversation, confident that the others weren't aware of her presence. Ino's voice she picked out immediately, and of course, Tenten's. The rather masculine snort had to have been Anko. She listened carefully, and picked out Shizune's voice, and the Hokage's voice joined in as well. She had been so busy picking out the voices that she missed the train of the conversation, but Ino's mention of the Rasengan snapped her back to awareness.

"I don't know. I'm just saying that maybe Sai's onto something, you know? I mean, most guys who use flashy techniques are compensating for something. Right, Anko?"

The special jonin snorted. "You got that right. The bigger and flashier the justu, the smaller the…" Hinata missed what was said due to a loud splash, but whatever Anko said was followed quickly by loud peals of laughter from all the girls involved. "I mean, this one time, this guy had hoped to impress me with this lightning technique he knew. Thought it was just the end-all-be-all, you know? So, I whip out my kunai, slice his clothes off from throat to crotch, leaving him naked as the day he was born. Let's just say that I wasn't impressed by what he displayed."

"Are you talking about Kakashi?" Someone asked.

"No, actually," responded Anko. "As much as he can use flashy jutsu, he's actually got the equipment to back up the boasts. He just doesn't use it nearly as much as he should." There was a distinctly petulant tone to her voice.

"Really?" Hinata thought that was Tenten's voice. "What sort of equipment does he carry around?"

"Hmm…" Hinata heard some more splashing. "I'd say it was about this big."

There were some murmurs of appreciation from the assembled women. Curiosity peaked, Hinata made a quick hand seal and activated her bloodline limit in order to get a pretty clear view of exactly how far apart Anko's hands were above the water. She blushed.

The Hokage had been quite until now, but she chimed in. "So he has nice equipment. Can he use it?"

"Yeah, if you can tear him away from those damn books." Hinata heard the water splash and a frustrated sigh from Orochimaru's former apprentice. "But it's about as hard to do that as to get him to take of that damn mask of his."

The topic of conversation drifted away from men, or at least, it drifted away from the specific attribute that made men men. They assembled kunoichi started chatting about other gossip. Hinata listened attentively, as she normally didn't get much opportunity to hear these things living on the Hyuuga compound. It was considered impolite to talk about relationships and rumors, compunctions that the other kunoichi obviously didn't share.

Eventually, the conversation drifted back to men. Tenten's voice chimed in. "So, do you really think Sai's comments about Naruto are true? You're on his team, Sakura. You should be able to tell. Besides, you're the medic, so you've probably seen him naked, right?"

There was some giggling from the other side of the divide, and Hinata blushed in spite of herself.

"Actually," Sakura's voice cut in, mirth evident in her tone, "I've never had to heal him at all, really. So, no, I can't answer that question. But Sai's got a great eye for bodies and proportionality, so if he say's Naruto's dick is small, who am I to question?"

Before she realized what she was doing, or even saying, Hinata stood up and confronted the group over the plants. "It is NOT!"

The women all turned to face the rapidly flushing Hinata, amusement and curiosity evident on all their faces. Tsunade smirked and recovered from the shock of the interruption first. "Oh? Well why don't you join us and tell us all how would you know, Hinata?"

Mortified, Hinata wanted to sink back down into the water and drown so that she wouldn't have to face this group, nor talk about this subject. But she couldn't refuse, after so rudely butting in on their private gossip session. Hesitantly, she worked her way around the outcropping and came around to join the group, sinking up to her chin in the water and refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"So," the Hokage asked, "is anyone else interested to know exactly how Hinata knows that Naruto's little soldier isn't all that little?"

Giggling erupted from the group of women, but the Hokage frowned a bit, trying to hush them up, even as she struggled to keep a smile of her face. Hinata didn't think it was possible to be anymore embarrassed than she already was, but when she stuttered out her answer, the women erupted in laughter, absolutely mortifying the poor Hyuuga heiress.

A little know fact was that chakra circulated through all parts of the body. The Hyuuga, naturally, could see that circulatory system. It made the Byakugan invaluable for seeing chakra flow through the body, but it also meant that they could see the details of a person's appendages through their clothing. Most Hyuuga would never admit it, but like all skills that ran in the clan, they'd developed the ability to judge a persons… attributes pretty effectively based on the size and width of the chakra circulator system in a person's body. They'd become fine purveyors of horse flesh over the years.

All around her, the other kunoichi beat the surface of the water in their mirth. Anko was positively crying in her laughter. Shizune, at least had the grace to be embarrassed for her, but even she was laughing as hard as the rest of them.

Eventually the group managed to get themselves under control, if only because they recognized that Hinata didn't have the self-confidence needed to deal with their levity. Tsunade reached over and patted squeezed gently on her shoulder. "We're not making fun of you, sweetheart. But you have to admit that the idea the mighty Huuga would use their vaunted bloodline limit to gauge a man's size is pretty funny."

Hinata blushed and nodded. "I can't help it. Clothing doesn't really stop my eyesight." A few more giggles erupted around from the group, but they became oddly serious suddenly as they realized exactly what the Hinata had said.

Tenten nervously licked her lips. "Wait, you mean…?" Looks were exchanged quickly, and then they all looked back at the poor flustered Hyuuga. "So, if I gave you a name, you could roughly tell me about how big?"

Hinata shrugged, embarrassed. "I guess."

Sakura blurted out, "What about Sasuke?" The Hokage shot the pink-haired kunoichi an annoyed glance, but nodded with a grunt.

"Sure. So, what about Sasuke, for example?"

"It's been a while since I've seen him, to be honest…" Hinata didn't have a photographic memory, but she did have a really good one.

"Guess," Sakura asked, her voice oddly insistent.

Thoroughly embarrassed, but at the same time oddly flattered at the attention, she thought back to the last time she'd seen Sasuke and gave an approximation by sticking her hands out above the water and holding them apart the appropriate distance, palm to palm.

Sakura grunted. "Huh. That it?"

Hinata shrugged. "Like I said, it has been a while. I haven't seen him since he was the last time we attempted to rescue him. Maybe it's changed?"

Anko snorted. "Not likely. One of the little known secrets about the Uchiha clan is that their vaunted genetics did not extend to every part of the body."

A round of giggles erupted from everyone except Sakura, who just pouted. Hinata wasn't so impolite as to laugh, but she did smile, relaxing a bit more in the presence of the other women.

"But," Sakura interrupted, "that was flaccid, right?"

Hinata blushed badly. "Um…"

Her hesitation was all the answer the others needed. The group howled with laughter as Sakura sputtered indignantly that size didn't matter and anyway what did they know about love and…

Hinata's blush deepened as Sakura was eventually laughed to silence as she vainly tried to defend Sasuke's redeeming features. Eventually, the other women were firing off questions to her about various male members, and the members of those males, in Konoha's male society, but steering clear of their immediate circle of male colleagues. Hinata obliged, embarrassed but also enjoying herself as well, because nobody in the Hyuuga clan would ever engage in this behavior on the compound.

Then Tenten asked nervously, "What about Neji?"

Sakura made a face. "Ew. I don't want to know this."

Ino nodded. "Yeah! That's her cousin. She probably doesn't want to think about that!"

Hinata nodded vigorously in agreement. "I'm sorry Tenten-san. It is rather… awkward."

Tsunade rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "What about if, for purely for scientific reasons, you could give a comparison to a measurement that you might have used before?"

"YES!" Tenten blushed. "I mean, for purely scientific reasons, you know? It would be in the interest of the greater good of Konoha, you know?"

Tenten tried to look serious, but the blush on her cheeks gave her away. With a sigh, Hinata held up her hands with an approximation of Neji. Tenten stared intently, nodding slightly as she chewed slightly on the corner of her mouth before letting out a sigh of relief. Her mouth twitched as she struggled to keep from smiling. "I was worried he'd be like Sasuke."

Sakura's squawk caused the group to break into laughter again.

Eventually the mirth died, but Hinata blushed and said. "I feel dirty."

This sparked a fresh round of merriment and this time Hinata joined in. Ino eventually broke down and asked about a particular member of the male population she was currently interested in, and Anko asked about at least three different guys. The Hokage abstained, and Shizune didn't need Hinata's help as she knew quite well how endowed her own lover was. The conversation drifted off after that, as they had been soaking in the bath for some time at that point.

Hinata moved to get out of the bath, thinking she might have avoided the most embarrassing question of all. However, Hokage grinned and asked, "What about Naruto?"

The assembled girls stared at her intently, not even bothering to hide the smirks on their faces.

"I haven't!"

The other women started to chuckle.

"Okay, I might have." Blushing, Hinata shook her head furiously. "But I won't talk about Naruto!"

Sakura and Ino both wheedled, but she refused. Tsunade shook her head in disappointment. "Hinata-chan, I hope you'll reconsider."

Stammering, Hinata said, "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I must refuse."

At that moment, Naruto's unmistakable voice drifted across the wall from the men's side. Hinata felt a chill as she saw the Cheshire cat grins light up the faces of the other women.

With a melodramatic sigh, the Hokage shrugged. "Oh well. I guess we'll just all have to find out then, won't we, girls?"

Slowly at first, and with increasing trepidation, Hinata backed away from the group, working her way towards the wall separating the men from the women, keeping her eyes on the others who followed closely behind her. She turned tail and swam as fast as she could towards the divider, the sound of her pursuers close behind.

She reached the wall first, and in desperation yelled out, "Naruto! Run!" She instantly blushed as the others behind her giggled.

"Hinata?" Naruto's voice drifted over the wall. "That you?"

More giggling sounded behind her. Still blushing, she responded. "Yes. You really should get out of here."

"Why should I run? I just got in the bath!"

Glaring at the women who behind her, Hinata said, "There's a group of perverts around, and they might try and take advantage of this situation."

She heard Naruto cursing. "Perverts? If Konohamaru is turning into a perverted old goat, I'll thrash him!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ino slid up to the wall and attempt to peer through a crack over to the men's side. With a squawk, Hinata sent a tightly focused burst of chakra out of her hand at the water next to the blond gossip, causing a huge spout of water to erupt in Ino's face. Sputtering, Ino wiped the water out of her face and glared back at Hinata.

"What was that for?"

"You were trying to spy on Naruto-kun!" Hinata whispered fiercely. The usage of the affectionate suffix didn't go unnoticed by the other ladies. Ino wasn't content with that explanation, and reared back with her fist, striking the surface of the water as hard as she could to send a huge plume of water in Hinata's direction.

Unfortunately, she soaked Hinata, but some of the others ladies as well. Hinata quickly cleared the water out of her eyes and gulped when she saw the maliciously gleeful faces staring back at her.

The water fight was on.

---

Naruto stepped out into the cool air of Konoha after his bath. It hadn't been bad, but the ladies side tonight sounded like a war zone tonight. Usually, it was only like that if his perverted sensei, Jiraiya, had been in the area. But things had been quiet since his old teacher had died, so he had no idea what caused it.

Tsunade stepped out from under the curtain that marked the women's side of the bath.

"Hey Naruto."

"Hey, Baa-san. Glad to see you're feeling better."

Rather than get upset like normal, Tsunade looked him up and down, as if she were examining a kunai for flaws. "I guess I see it."

"See what?"

Tsunade grinned. "Nothing. See you tomorrow, brat. I've got some missions for you, got it?"

"See what? What do you see?"

Tsunade affectionately rubbed his head. "You're cute when you're clueless." Before he could get over her strange treatment, Shizune came out of the curtain and nearly bumped into the Hokage. She was followed closely by Anko, Tenten, Ino, and Sakura, who burst out of the curtain, giggling furiously.

"Oh! Hi, Naruto-kun." Shizune's emphasis on the diminutive sent the girls into peals of laughter. "Did you have a good bath?"

He scratched the back of his head. Why was everyone being so weird all of a sudden? "Yeah, I guess."

Before anyone else could ask him more questions, Hinata burst out of the women's side and nearly face planted in the ground as she registered that Naruto was talking to the very women she had tried to protect him from.

"Hey Hinata!"

Embarrassed but resolute, she collected herself and tried to position herself unobtrusively between Naruto and the others in an attempt to shield him body from their calculating gazes.

"You okay? You looked flushed."

"Ah… I'm fine." Desperate to extricate herself from this situation, she chose the less embarrassing option. "Do you want some ramen? My treat!"

The laughter of the other women followed her even as Naruto dragged her through the streets in his haste to get to Ichiraku's.

---

Naruto placed the now empty bowl on the counter and contentedly patted his belly, having just finished off his fifth serving. Beside him, Hinata was still picking at her first, pushing the fishcake around in the broth. She hadn't said much since inviting him out for ramen, but that was okay, since he wasn't good at conversation until he'd had at least four bowls under his belt.

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but a great deal of tension hung in the air between the two. Since the fight with Pein, he really hadn't had a lot of time to talk to Hinata about what had happened on the battlefield. Actually, to be honest, he hadn't seen her for more than two seconds since then, so it was nice to actually have a chance to hang out and really talk.

After all, it wasn't very often someone shouted they loved you and wanted to be with you before running off to face certain death.

"So what was that all about tonight at the bathhouse?"

Hinata flushed. "The others were saying… inappropriate things."

"Really? Huh." Naruto nodded his thanks as old man Ichiraku placed another bowl of beef ramen in front of him, unasked. "About what?"

Hinata shook her head. "I really don't want to say."

He tried his best to coax her to talk about it, but she refused. He gave up after about eight bowls, content just to eat his fill on his friend's dime. He knew he shouldn't take advantage of her generosity, so he stopped after about ten.

The walk back to the Hyuuga compound was rather odd, though. Hinata had her byakugan active, and a permanent blush on her cheeks. In addition, she chased Ino and Sakura off with that weird kick-ass distance attack she had, and warned him to watch out for Anko on his way home. He didn't understand any of it, but who was he to complain? He got free ramen out of it.

Naruto just chalked it up to something about women and promptly forgot about it. That is, until he was ambushed on just in front of his apartment.

---

"Jesus!" Naruto ducked Ino's vicious kunai swing, managing to get away with out injury, but not without losing a small portion of his pants. Because he had overextended to avoid injury, he left himself completely exposed to Anko's sword swipe. He braced for pain, but was relieved when he only felt a brief breeze and refreshing coolness.

Wait. What?

He looked down and noticed that she'd cut a perfect line in his shirt, and it was now hanging open in the front. With a grunt, he tore the now useless garment off and tossed it at his closest assailant, hoping to create some space. He was relieved when it worked, but didn't realize that it was his abs that had created the distraction he needed to back away. He hopped away from the two women, keeping his back to a wall so that he could keep an eye on them both as they stalked towards him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you two?"

Anko licked her lips. "You were right, Ino. This was a good idea!"

Ino nodded. "Too bad Shikamaru doesn't look like that…" She sighed wistfully. "Hinata's got good tastes. Oh well!"

Wary, Naruto asked, "What's this got to do with Hinata?"

Both girls blinked. "What, she didn't tell you?"

Naruto shook his head, taking the time to calculate some sort of escape route. The two weren't emitting any killing intent, so he was pretty confident he'd get out of this mauled but alive.

Anko tsked. "We," she pointed to her partner in crime, "want to see what Hinata's been hiding. The shirt off is a good start. Now, lose the pants, or we take them off for you."

"Are you serious?"

Anko licked the edge of her blade and grinned. "Deadly."

Naruto blinked. "You mean you guys are the perverts she was talking about?"

"Yeap!"

Naruto "eeped" as the women sprang into action, intent on disrobing him. He ducked under a swipe from Anko and once inside her guard, used a quickly (and poorly) formed rasengan to send her careening into Ino. The two girls collapsed in a heap on the ground, and Naruto used the opportunity to hightail it out of there. Unfortunately, he never really stood a chance against Ino's family technique. She had a clear line of sight, and before he could get out of the range for her technique, she'd captured in him Shintenshin technique.

"Got him, Ino?"

Now in full possession of Naruto's body, Ino nodded. "Got him. So, do you want to unwrap him, or can I do it?"

Grunting as she extricated herself from Ino's limp body, Anko brushed off a bit of dirt and stood up. "Why don't you put on a show for us?"

Ino began to make Naruto's body gyrate like a stripper, running his hands up and down his chest and abs, much to the delight of the watching Anko. The show lasted for a few minutes before

Anko got impatient. "Alright, alright. Show me what he's got."

Ino's mind commanded Naruto to start undoing his belt buckle post-haste. Before Naruto could undo the button at the top of his pants, however, his body seized up and he toppled forward, revealing an extremely irate Hinata standing behind him, her body still poised from having delivered the Jyuuken strikes that incapacitated him.

Anko waved. "Hey Hinata." Unfortunately, her friendly greeting had the opposite effect. Anko blinked as the amount of killing intent pouring off the normally quiet ninja standing astride Naruto's body doubled.

Her hands were still glowing from the after-effects of her previous attacks. Rather than give her two friends chance to recover, Hinata fiercely stated, "you will leave Naruto-kun alone!" She punctuated each word with a volley of projectile Jyuuken strikes, aiming at tenketsu she knew hurt like hell but didn't cause lasting damage. Anko yelped and dodged, managing to avoid all but one glancing blow to her leg. Ino, however wasn't so lucky, having been in the process of recovering from her possession of Naruto, and took the full brunt of the attack. The blond kunoichi collapsed on the ground in a boneless heap.

Anko rubbed her thigh where Hinata's blow caught her, sparing the occasional glance at Ino. "What the hell got into you, you crazy bitch?"

Hinata's eyes narrowed. "You are to leave Naruto-kun alone."

Anko grinned. "And if I don't?"

Before she could even blink, Hinata zipped another strike past her temple, lightly scratching the skin and cutting off a lock of hair.

Anko touched her temple where it had been scratched as she watched her hair flutter to the ground. She grinned and pulled out a kunai, twirling it by the ring at the end. "You and I have got to spar someday." She tossed the kunai over to Hinata, who plucked it out of the air gingerly. "Can you do my other side, too? I want the side-burns to be even."

Hinata blinked. "Um… Okay?" She looked down at Naruto, then again at Anko. She quietly walked over to the purple-haired kunoichi and started trimming the other side of her head with the kunai. "You aren't mad?"

"Hell no! I was just having fun."

"And Ino?" Hinata asked, evaluating her work objectively before handing the kunai back to Anko.

"Well, she might be mad, but I guess we both deserved it." Anko nodded her thanks to Hinata, and slinging the unconscious Ino over her shoulder, waved as she walked away. "Tata, toots!"

"Toots?"

Hinata squeaked as she heard Naruto's voice. He was looking up at her from the corner of his eye, not having moved from where she'd flattened him earlier.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun!"

He grunted. "I should be thanking you. You stopped them from get to do whatever it was they wanted to do." He struggled to roll over but failed. "Fuck. I'd forgotten how much your Gentle Fist style hurts. Help me up?"

Hinata hurried over to his side and helped him roll over. It was only then that she noticed the fact that he was bare-chested. Blushing furiously, she looped one of his arms over her shoulders and pulled him to his feet, almost falling down as she realized she had to support a majority of his weight due to the fact she'd practically paralyzed his legs from her first strike to his spine.

"Where too?"

"Can you take me home?"

Hinata nodded. She concentrated on helping him walk, trying to ignore the feel of his arm around her shoulders or his smell. Thankfully, it wasn't far to his apartment, but navigating the multiple flights of stairs wasn't an easy task with Naruto's deadweight. His right side was still mostly immobile from where the shoulder joint had seized, so it was with great embarrassment that Hinata had to dig into his pocket to pull out the keys to his door.

As soon as he was close enough to the couch, he flopped down face-first with a groan. "God. These things hurt so much worse from behind? Why is that?"

Hinata sat down on the edge of the couch near his legs and looked desperately around his apartment so that she didn't stare at his back. Like the rest of Konoha, it was pretty sparse. Decoration was the last thing people had the time for when so much of the village needed to be rebuilt. It was little more than four walls and a roof, with a small bathroom. A couple of mismatched pieces of salvaged furniture completed the limited décor. "The muscles in the back are larger and tend to spasm after a Jyuuken strike, which can either constrict blood flow to the muscles and exacerbate the pain or put pressure on the sciatic nerve and cause incapacitate the victim."

Naruto turned his head slight. "I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds pretty bad."

Hinata blushed. That triggered a small chuckle from Naruto, till he grimaced and grit his teeth. "Okay. Note to self-laughing hurts."

Hinata bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I just reacted without thinking about how much this would hurt."

"Do you know anyway to help?"

"Ah… Um… Several, actually." Hinata rummaged around in her coat pockets as she thought. "The fastest way is to force chakra through your tenketsu until they open again."

Naruto snorted. "Nope. That option's out. I remember doing that during the chunin exams and I'm not ready to try that again anytime soon. What are the other options?"

"There's acupuncture, a hot bath or muscle relaxants, a massage, some stretching exercises…"

"Massage?" His eyebrow rose. "Really?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. Increasing blood flow to the injured tissue helps it heal faster and re-open the tenketsu faster."

"Could I bother you for one, then?"

It took her a moment for her brain to mentally reboot and understand what he had just asked, and when it did Hinata blushed and stammered, her ability to function coherently completely derailed by his request.

Even though she was uncomfortable with the request Hinata nodded vigorously, her mind finally realizing exactly what was being offered. An excuse to put her hands on Naruto. Before he could change his mind, she managed to stammer out that she would do it. Finding a pot of herbed muscle balm in her coat pocket, she put that on the arm of the couch and stood up. She managed to ask him if he had a washcloth. Naruto told her where he kept them, and, increasingly nervous, she ran the washcloth under warm water in the sink.

She rung it out till it was damp but not soaking, and returning to the edge of the couch, began to wipe off the dirt that had clung to Naruto's back. The process probably took longer than it should have because Hinata sat entranced by his glistening skin after each pass of the washcloth, and the definition of his back, highlighted by the occasional muscle spasm that rippled up his spine.

Eventually, she put the washcloth down, knowing that there wasn't a single spot that she hadn't already cleaned several times. Scooting a bit farther up the couch so she was even with his hips, she perched on the edge of the couch and scooped some balm into her hand. Gingerly, she spread it on his lower back and began to very tentatively massage it into the muscles that surrounded his lower lumbar with her fingertips.

She continued for a few seconds before he twitched. After a few more passes, he snorted. With her last pass he burst out laughing, even if he immediately gritted his teeth in pain.

"Is something wrong, Naruto?"

"That tickles!"

"Sorry. More force, then?"

He nodded. She dug in with her fingers and really got to work, eliciting a huge moan from the blond. She stopped immediately.

"Are you alright?"

It took him a moment to find his voice. "Yeah," he said shakily. "That was awesome. Don't stop doing that."

Sitting on the edge of the couch wasn't the best angle to give a back massage, so she stood up, but hesitated. "Um... Naruto-kun?"

"Wha??"

"Do you mind if I… um… sit on you? It is easier than having to twist. I'll get better leverage, too."

He didn't mind, of course. But Hinata was glad he couldn't see her face, because she was blushing furiously as she swung her leg over his hips and sat astride his rear. But it did give much better leverage and access to his back. Applying a bit more balm, she set to work on his lower back, then marching her thumbs up his spine until she reached his neck. From there, she worked across the trapezius muscles to his shoulder, then down the deltoid and back towards his lower back across the rhomboideus major and latissimus dorsi.

Each movement to a new muscle group brought a small grunt from Naruto that she quickly identified as sounds of pleasure. Soon, she was lost in the rhythm of her work, feeling the muscles under her fingers loosen as she worked the balm into his skin, attacking particularly recalcitrant knots in his back with her thumbs and the palm of her hands. This elicited moans of appreciation from Naruto, encouraging her to work even harder.

Eventually, her arms became tired and she stopped massaging and eventually just started running her hands up and down his back, marveling in the texture of his skin and muscles.

Without really meaning too, she blurted out, "your back is so smooth."

"Huh?"

Blushing, Hinata tried to recover. "I mean, you have no scars on your back. How did you manage that?"

"Oh, that's the Kyuubi's fault. I can't form calluses, either." He paused. "I can show you, if you want."

Hinata nodded, but then remembering that he couldn't see her, told him she'd like that. "You'll have to get off of me before I can do that, though."

Hinata had almost forgotten that she was perched on top of him. Suddenly very self-conscious, she leapt off and sat on the edge of the couch, trying to ignore the chuckling she heard. She watched him slowly move to a sitting position and sat entranced as she watched the muscles of his stomach and chest ripple as he moved.

Naruto sat up and blinked. Then he blinked again, and slowly rounding his spine, he pulled his shoulders to his ears and let them drop before sitting up straight again. "My god, Hinata. This feels amazing! Who taught you to do that?" He twisted lightly, mostly pain free, before sinking back on the couch and relaxing next to Hinata.

Embarrassed again at his praise, she told him about how she learned to do that mostly to herself and her sister to help ease the pain of growing up in a Hyuuga household. She was having a hard time keeping the conversation going though, because she was too distracted by his relative state of undress to do much more than stare. That was okay, though, because Naruto kept the conversation going on his end, asking questions that she could respond to in short answers.

Eventually, she remembered why he sat up in the first place and asked to see his hands. As he promised, they were as smooth as if he'd never handled a kunai a day in his life. Naruto was a bit bitter about it, actually, since he kept having to buy gloves so that he could practice enough taijutsu. She simply traced the index finger of her left hand back and forth across the inside of his knuckles on the top of his left palm, entranced by the soft smooth skin she found there.

She stopped focusing on his words, instead listening just to the sound of his voice as she concentrated on the sensation coming from her finger tips. She didn't know when or even how it happened, but eventually she stopped rubbing his palm and started tracing her finger up his wrist to the crook of his elbow and back, lightly touching the skin as she reveled in just being able to touch him.

She realized that Naruto had stopped talking some time ago. She quickly stopped what she was doing and looked up, only to find her self staring directly into his eyes.

She swallowed. There was a bit of relief to notice that he had as well.

Hinata blushed furiously but didn't look away. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head slowly, not breaking eye contact. "Don't be. I…" He flushed. "I was enjoying it."

Hinata hung her head, too embarrassed by the look on his face. Tentatively, she reached out and touched her finger tip to his wrist again, slowly tracing her finger tip up the inside of his forearm until she reached his elbow, and then back down again. She repeated the same motion again, and this time, feeling bold, stopped at his elbow before moving up, across the top of his bicep and back down.

His sharp intake of breath sparked something in her that she hadn't known ever existed. Hinata had always preferred to stand in the background. She didn't want to live that way anymore. It had taken the courage that comes from knowing that you were about to die to admit to Naruto that she loved him and wanted to be with him.

Now that she was given a second chance, she couldn't go back to the way she was. The desire to finally live, and not be so damn scared all the time emboldened her. She was still scared shitless, but she realized that there was a certain type of freedom in living the way Naruto did – for each moment. She'd found out recently how quickly that a ninja could be extinguished. She suddenly felt free, ready to enjoy herself for the first time in her life.

She didn't care what others thought of her. That wasn't completely true, of course. She cared a whole lot about what Naruto thought about her. But, she no longer felt constrained by her family anymore.

And all this because of one sharp intake of breath.

Her finger traced its way back up his arm to his shoulder, then across his collar bone. He inhaled sharply.

"Hinata?"

"We haven't had a chance to talk about what I said when you were fighting Pein." She finally looked up again, pulling her gaze away from her finger. In his eyes she saw reflected her own uncertainty, but at the same time there was a hunger there that made her feel both weak and incredibly powerful. She kept her fingers moving, tracing a line from collarbone to collarbone, then down one bicep and back.

He nodded his head a bit, distracted by the sensation of her fingernail on his bare skin.

"I was... surprised."

Hinata smiled at him shyly. "I've felt like that for a long time."

Naruto's grin matched her own. Relieved, nervous, and... expectant. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and judging by the fluctuations she could see in his neck caused by the carotid as his pulse increased, he was probably feeling pretty similar.

"I must have been pretty dense not to notice."

Hinata giggled a bit. "You were."

A small silence fell between the two. "So, what now?" asked Naruto.

In that instant, Hinata decided. She'd never been a forceful person in her life. She knew that if she walked away from this right now, she'd never have the chance to find out again. She'd be too embarrassed, too shy, to ever put herself in a similar situation, content to spend the rest of her life thinking about the possibilities rather than acting on them.

Mustering the same courage she'd used to face down Pein and make her declaration, and before he could say anything else, she swung her left leg over his lap so that she was straddling his thighs, facing him. She was just short enough that their eyes were level. Looking into his eyes, she brought her hands to his face and began to slowly caress the whisker marks on his cheeks.

"I want to show you that I meant it."

Caressing his whisker marks with her left hand, she slid her right hand through his hair until she was able to grab a handful of his hair at the back of his neck. She didn't give herself the opportunity to chicken-out, and instead leaned forward and kissed him as soundly as she knew how.

Considering she'd never kissed anyone before, Hinata was proud of her first effort. He froze as her lips made contact, but responded quickly and with increasing enthusiasm. Hinata melted into his chest when she felt his arms come up and wrap around her waist, pulling her body closer to his.

She lost track of how long they stayed like that on the couch, but when she finally pulled away, she was breathless and her lips felt puffy and swollen. Hinata was sure that the huge shit-eating grin on his face probably mirrored her own.

Naruto had to clear his throat and tried to speak. "That was…"

"Shh..." She put a finger to his lips to shut him up and shuddered when he turned his head so he could nipped it gently with his enlarged canines.

Hinata shifted in his lap, feeling his reaction to her presence pressing up into her own crotch.

"Naruto?"

He only responded with a grunt, busy nibbling away at her finger. Each bite was sending shooting thrills down her spine.

"Your sensei was a pervert, right?"

He nodded.

"Good." She pulled her hand back and reached down to towards the bottom of her coat, pulling it and her shirt over her head and tossing them to the floor.

Naruto stared at her wide-eyed as she sat on his lap clad only in a bra. That joined the other clothes on the floor only a moment later as she casually tossed it over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of his.

"Show me what he taught you. I've got a lot of lost time to make up for, and we don't know when the Akatsuki are coming back."

---

Hinata relaxed in the public bath, a small smile on her face as she pulled her towel down over her eyes and allowed her body to float in the warm water. She must have drifted off to sleep, because she was startled awake by someone tapping her shoulder.

"Hinata?"

Hinata sat upright and pulled the towel off from her eyes, blinking as she saw Ino, Sakura, and Anko staring back at her warily.

"Yes?"

Sakura took a deep breath and began. "We just wanted to say that we were sorry for last week and… Hey, are those bite marks?" Reaching forward, Sakura pointed at the bruises on her neck and shoulder.

However, before Hinata could respond, her sister, Hinabi, waded over towards them and blurted out, "Hinata, Father wants to know when you'll be coming home."

Ino and Sakura whipped their heads back and forth between Hinata, Hanabi, and the bruises they'd noticed.

Hinata sighed. "Tell Father that I'll be coming home tomorrow morning. Will that be okay?"

Hinabi cocked her head with a small frown. "He won't be pleased."

The older Hyuuga shrugged. "I know. But he's welcome to come over and make his displeasure known."

Hanabi blanched. "Are you sure you want me to tell him that?"

Hinata paused, and then with an emphatic nod stated, "Yes. I'll see you later, then?"

Hinata watched as Hanabi nodded and turned to go, heading for another area of the bath. Unfortunately, that meant she was still stuck with Sakura and Ino, who had taken the chance to sit down facing her in the bath, one on either side. Hinata couldn't very well leave without being rude, and because she'd acknowledge her sister, was obliged to respond to their queries as well.

Ino was gazing at Hinata speculatively, while Sakura just frowned and tried surreptitiously get closer to examine the bruises. Hinata relaxed backwards into the water, both to hide the marks a bit more and to create a bit more personal space.

Sakura leaned forward and asked, "did you run away from home?" She reached forward and poked one of the more conspicuous bruises on her thigh. Her voice softened. "Are they abusing you there?" Ino quirked an eyebrow but had the sense to remain quiet.

Hinata paused. "No. Not since. No. I've just been... busy and have not had a chance to return to the new compound." She looked down at the bruise on her thigh and sighed. "That was a result of a... training accident."

"Hinata..." Ino began. Sakura jumped in. "You don't have to protect them, you know. We can help you. You don't have to let this happen." She growled under her breath. "I'd thought Hiyashi had stopped doing this years ago."

Hinata squirmed uncomfortably. "It wasn't... My father didn't do this. It is okay. Really. Will you please let it go?"

"We're your friends. It's our duty to help you." Sakura nodded vigorously in agreement with Ino's statement.

Hinata nodded and told them she appreciated their offer, but it really wasn't necessary in this case. Thankfully, the two decided to let it go and chat about other things, like the reconstruction efforts, which guy had the cutest butt, and other mindless topics. Eventually it drifted over into their close friends and fellow ninja academy graduates.

"Hey, Hinata. Have you seen Naruto? I haven't seen the real Naruto in almost a week." Sakura asked.

"Yeah..." Ino scratched her chin, sending a small ripple of water in Hinata's direction. "I've only seen bunshin running around."

"Yes..." she delayed thinking how best to phrase this. Even though she had mentally made the preparations on how to say it, she was still cautious. "We've been... training together in order to be better prepared for when the Akatsuki return."

"Wait!" Ino pointed at the bruise. "You mean Naruto did that?"

Hinata nodded.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and looked at the bite marks. "Then how do you explain those, huh?"

Hinata closed her eyes and fought to keep a straight face. "Naruto gets a little... passionate, sometimes." She was hoping that the other girls would not make the connection. Unfortunately, Ino's eyes widened and her eyebrows climbed into her hairline. Sakura looked confused for a moment before she did a double take and stared closely at the location of the marks.

"You didn't!" They cried in stereo.

Hinata merely shrugged.

"YOU DID!!! KYAAAA!!!"

The other patrons of the bath stared at the girls in disapproval, cutting short the celebratory squealing. That didn't diminish their joy, however, and they began to immediately grill Hinata on the details. She kept most of the details private, but confirmed that Naruto and her were an item, and that she had spent most of the week over at his place.

"So how'd you get the bruise?" Sakura asked.

Hinata shrugged. "I'm not sure. It might have been when he threw me on to the couch once…" She trailed off as she saw the other two staring at her.

"Naruto?"

Hinata nodded while blushing. "There are some… benefits to hosting the Kyuubi."

Ino and Sakura exchanged glances. Ino had to ask the question, though. "So, how big was it?"

Hinata wanted to glare, but couldn't muster up the energy for it. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it does!" Ino and Sakura both chimed in in perfect unison, and harmony. All three girls blinked at that, but quickly recovered.

A small smile crept across Hinata's face. "Let's just say Naruto has absolutely no need for any flashy techniques. Plus, it's perfect for me. That's the only answer you're going to get."

---

END

AN- one shot little semi-spam fic. Questions, comments, critiques welcome. Flames used to burn drafts of chapter 3 of Strength of a Horse and chapter 5/6 of A Slight Misunderstanding.

I've been attacked by a load of plot bunnies recently, and I hate it because I haven't had time to really write much. But I'm still sticking with the 400 words things. Even though the going is slow, at least I'm making progress.

Enjoy!


End file.
